Crisis Care Concordat for Wales announced

Crisis – the national charity for single homeless people – has today published a report looking at the impact of benefits sanctions. Their research found this punitive regime is leaving many vulnerable people homeless, hungry and destitute and making it even harder for them to find work.

Responding to the research, Tom Pollard, Policy and Campaigns Manager at Mind, said:

“Time and time again we hear about the negative impact benefit sanctions have on people’s mental health and finances. This latest report from Crisis highlights how stopping someone’s benefits can also push many people into difficult situations, and even homelessness.”

“Stopping, or threatening to stop, someone’s financial support is completely the wrong approach to help people with mental health problems find work – it’s actually counterproductive. Pressurising someone to engage in often inappropriate activities under the threat of losing their benefit causes a huge deal of additional anxiety, often making people more unwell and less able to work.”

“Instead of punishing people for failing to do certain tasks, we want the Government to take a more positive approach. Programmes that provide more personalised support are much more effective in getting people with mental health problems back into employment. Rather than constantly treating people with suspicion, we need a system that takes into account their skills, ambitions, and the real barriers they face in getting and staying in a job.”